Sonora woman's jail escape attempt fails

It works in the movies, but a Sonora woman’s attempt to dig her way out of a jail cell failed after her cellmate’s boyfriend ratted her out. The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department got an anonymous call about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 11 reporting an attempted escape.

Allyssa Jensen an inmate at Tuolumne County Jail.
Tuolumne County Jail

It works in the movies, but a Sonora woman’s attempt to dig her way out of a jail cell failed after her cellmate’s boyfriend ratted her out.

The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department got an anonymous call about 9:30 p.m. Dec. 11 reporting an attempted escape. The caller turned out to be the boyfriend of an inmate who shared a cell with Allyssa Jensen, 23.

“I’m assuming there was some kind of a disagreement going on between the two women inmates and the boyfriend was called,” Sgt. Jeff Wilson said. The caller reported there was a hole in the ceiling and Jensen was planning to try to escape.

Deputies checking out the report indeed found a hole, apparently clawed through drywall by Jensen’s bare hands. But though the hole was large enough for a small adult to fit through, Wilson said, Jensen would not have found her way to freedom.

“What she didn’t know is that she couldn’t escape,” Wilson said. Had Jensen managed to gain access to the roof, she’d have found it chained off with fencing. “She wouldn’t have been able to go any further than that.”

Jensen, who was in jail awaiting a court date on drug-related charges and a couple of warrants, had an attempted escape allegation added to her charges. She also faces charges in connection with the damages to the ceiling, estimated at several hundred dollars, Wilson said.